Friends, family members and fans continued to mourn the death of Jeff Buckley

at a memorial service that was open to the public, held Friday night in Brooklyn Heights. The public memorial came a day after a private ceremony (see Sat., Aug. 2 news report) held on Thursday night and attended by artists including Elvis

Costello and Marianne Faithfull.

Hardly a public memorial, the Friday event was instead an intimate gathering attended by a

close community who knew and admired the young singer.

There was no media circus, no television crews present. The

500 people who quietly filed into St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church at dusk

Friday were mostly young, contemporaries of Buckley. This was a group of people that, if circumstances were different, would be attending a friend's wedding rather than his funeral.

Buckley's strong ties to New York City included not only friends, but

involvement in and contribution to the Greenwich Village folk scene. Touring

took him away from New York, but he always returned and last February he

played what would be his last show in New York at Arlene's Grocery, a small,

but popular venue in the city.

St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church was a spot that according to the church's

artistic director, Buckley had loved and played at numerous times. Many

unfamiliar with his talent first witnessed Buckley's extraordinary voice and

style when he played there at a 1991 tribute to his late father, Tim Buckley,

who died of an accidental drug overdose at age 28.

For those who knew Jeff Buckley well, Friday's memorial service had personal touches

that commemorated the late singer's ambitious spirit and love of life. High

above the head of mourners hung a silver, glittering disco ball. Small,